A mini ARG for up to 60 students in a contained building and limited timeframe. From a faux task at the start of the day and ending in a theatrical ceremony in a large studio set the overall mission of the ARG is to develop:

6. Form – To understand through doing what “experience design” (vs one way, pushed screen story) is

1st TREATMENT AND BACK STORY

1st treatment by Gary Hayes based on group discussion

Humanity is in peril. It’s history. all it’s key emotional moments in time may be taken from us turning the earth into a shell, an un-imaginative dark void. Can a group of rookie students at a renowned media academy, be able to stop the final showdown as the final ‘stories’ are poised at the transportation portal?

They are amongst us. For millennia the ‘story stealers’ of Odyss have secretly and invisibly roamed our earth, stalking & capturing humanities’ most emotional and tragic events. They are a lost race from a dying planet, a dark world without laughter, emotion, drama – a void. Thousands of years ago they arrived through a portal, a series of wormholes desperate for creative spark. They needed to bring back ‘charged’ stories, to steal moments of our time, make them their own, as if their race have lived them themselves – they are here to ‘mine’ our creativity, an energy force that will drive their existence.

They find, inhabit and in so doing, infect human hosts who are seen to be full of life, leading rich, meaningful and exciting creative lives, waiting for the moment they have ecstatic, emotional, traumatic events. Once they have 7 major stories (with 8 emotion filled lines each) they vacate & in doing so, kill the host, split them into 7 pieces – each of those random pieces then search out land on the next victims. An unstoppable contagion.

This happened to a Lady Blashki & ten more victims on the morning of that fateful last day, live in front of 60 students.

For the past two hundred years these visitors from another world have been waiting for the day they can make their final return to their planet, our human story in tow. Now they have captured the final essence of our world they wait for the esteemed day the portal will open – on the 22nd day of the 2 month of the 2nd decade of the 2nd millennia AD – 2/2/10 at 1600 hours the portal will open for 30 minutes. The last 10 human victims now contain the most powerful 60 stories, fragments of hundreds of years of key human events – and they wait to die as their alien infestation is about to escape their final host.

But a group of students start to work out what is happening. At first startled by these events, they witness dramatic events, uncover clues, human allies of the aliens, the science behind the infestations, long lost historical documents of investigators who were killed getting close to the truth, discover a bigger cover up and finally find the way to:

1. save the final human victims

2. bring Blashki back from the other dimension

3. send the aliens finally back from whence they came and

4. more than all of this, save humanities story

They must as a group decipher and collect these previous 60 story fragments and create an alternate, tell a story so unlike the original, and any other that the aliens return with the wrong facts, an alternate fiction, an unreality. Will these stories at the final ceremony be so far fetched but believable, yet contain our history? Only the story portal will tell.

THE STORIES BEING STOLEN

The premise here is that climatic events that focused the worlds attention for short periods generated intense energy, this allowed the ‘visitors’ to capture the essence of humanity through their story. Once they have distilled this they are passing it through host to host until the destined day of release. We have chosen a mix of events that in recent times have had literally billions go into those ‘I remember what I was doing at that moment’ moments…

Here are the stories with a corresponding AFTRS value, a bit.ly link to wikipedia and a possible flickr (landscape ‘typical’ motivational image attached)

▪ 12.50 pm – Debbie reveals big research site by assistant. All students told about 15.30 significant time to get to the bottom of this quickly, urgency! (but also get a bite to eat 🙂 Report to foyer at 1.30pm to share!! IMPORTANT!

▪ 1.30 pm – Kathy Blashki voice appears in foyer. A flashing video on TV screens, links to main hub site (with instructions for final stages). Students find out their task

▪ 2.00 pm – Infected staff with masks on now seen walking around again and students collecting their lines. Students work in groups on their final stories for the ceremony

▪ 3.20 pm – Students and infected staff meet near Portal Tree outside front. Taken into studio 1 for final ceremony

▪ Research reveals that Humanity’s ’story life force’ could be taken from us. Ritual expert Dr James Simon researched writings through the early part of the last millennium detailing a ceremony that should be performed to avoid this crisis.

▪ The ritual is a sort of appeasement for our visitors who, unable to talk directly to us, would be willing to forgo taking our emotional story essence if a replacement was strong enough to take its place. It seems they thrive on the emotions of the story, more so than the actual story.

▪ This ceremony is designed to release the visitors from earth (translated from ancient Celtic) is detailed below:his ceremony (translated from ancient Celtic) is detailed below:

2. Seven groups of eight people—all of the same colour wristband, must be formed.

3. Your objective is to collect the Ee fragments from each human vessel: you have twenty minutes.

THE COLLECTION TASKS

1. Each group must acknowledged each of the seven vessels

2. Speak a trigger word – the trigger word is a strong human value—one valued by the group

3. Accept the vial and dialogue if it is offered; otherwise seek another value or another vessel.

4. Collect only ONE COLOURED Ee VIAL from EACH HUMAN VESSEL

5. Each member of each group must attain one fragment

6. When all the fragments have been gathered (56 fragments) go to the designated tree outside and match the colours so that each group ends up with the fragments the same colour.

7. There will be fifty six emotional lines spoken by the final seven human vessels during the gathering hour before the 15.30 ceremony –so make sure you are familiar with your line.

STORY CREATION TASK

1. Once each group has their colour coded eight lines, they have about forty minutes to create a fictional story with a strong emotional core..

2. The story will be influenced by elements of ancient aboriginal archetype, the ‘human value’ that their group represents –PLUS elements or lines or the human event the group carries – this will appease the visitors who have spent many years collecting this elixir.

THE 3.20 pm MEETING PLACE

1. At 15.20 precisely all groups must meet at the ‘Portal Tree’ (see image) and each group will join with any one of the seven final infected humans

2. One of the infected humans will ring a bell and each group will follow silently (with their own masked infectee) in a line to The Portal

THE PORTAL

1. At 15.30 the ceremony will begin at the Portal.

2. Each group of eight in the colour sequence of the rainbow, will be asked by a human (a voice from ‘the other side’) to stand before the portal on the raised platform

▪ a) They will each place their vial on the ‘connection sound grid’ before the portal and then speak their lines loudly in turn & with passion

▪ b) They will then, as a group, present their ‘new’ story in whatever way they choose—as long as it catalyses a strong emotional experience. . They will have no longer than 3 minutes to present. The human ‘on the other side’ will make sure they don’t upset the visitors by telling too long a story

1. The Portal will react to wonderful emotional story elements and at the end of each group the human ‘on the other side’ will say if they have soothed the visitors

2. After the final story is told the infected humans will be cured and the human ‘on the other side’ will return through the portal and the visitors will go home.

3. Thus a promise is made to them: That we will continue to create new stories and one day they will return to hear them. In peace.

SPOKEN SECTION OF THE CEREMONY

INTRO “Welcome. And THANKYOU for completing the tasks.

I am what used to be known as Kathy Blashki.

I am here on the other side and will speak on behalf of the visitors.

We are all gathered here to appease the visitors and tell them powerful stories.

They want Emotion as potent as the emotions in the stories you have taken back from them.

Deliver each in turn the elixir; speak your line and then stand on the platform before the portal

(use the amplification device [mike] so the visitors can hear you through the portal!)

THANK YOU…. the visitors are soothed by this elixer

NOW make sure you are all on the platform present your story

You have five minutes only and the portal will show its pleasure and appreciation of the story by responding through sound

AT END OF EACH GROUP [possible responses based on their presentations] 1. “That was wonderful. 2. ‘You have shared a powerful moment’ 3. ‘your story has captured the hearts of the visitors 4. “Your story has deeply moved us. 5. ‘Your efforts have helped release the host from their visitors’ 6. ‘Your story is moving and will be remembered’ 7. ‘Your work is appreciated by the forces on the other side’ 8. ‘You have distilled a powerful essence 9. ‘You have allowed us to experience something rare and precious’ 10. ‘Your presentation has appeased the visitors’

The follow-up line is: ‘In appreciation the visitors send back to you your human host freed from any harm’

Can the ORANGE group step forward…etc

AFTER THE FINAL GROUP

“Seven wonderful stories, more than 50 amazing people The visitors have told me these stories are more than acceptable. They will leave the vials, we can keep our history. Human creativity is more powerful than they ever had imagined.

FINAL ENTRANCE “As an offering of appreciation they will now return me to you…

Rumble and KB enters back through the portal

ROUGH SCRIPTS FOR VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ARG

1st drafts Gary

Theatrical events during the day

The SMS secretly sent out on Sat morn to 10-15 students

▪ “hi, a txt from someone who knows more than AFTRS and the world is choosing to ignore. re: your 1st day on monday, it is important you help… they are taking our history!…I will contact you in person. biodyss”

10 am Catherine Gleeson intro on Mon morning

▪ General welcome

▪ A faux intro to the day – story thinking, audience thinking, experience – perhaps have a dummy schedule ready

▪ Talk about extending your thinking, innovation, AFTRS values (mention some of them but dont mention the posters)

10.20 Kath Blashki faux task for the students (note update – this first KB session could potentially be done live as in the theatre now?!)

▪ Apologizes & sad for being on Skype but “as you can see” I am not feeling well and a little contagious – jokes

▪ You are about to embark on a two week training program on PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: a complex playing field related to PRODUCTION BUDGET ANALYSIS & RISK MANAGEMENT, CODE OF CONDUCT, ON-SET SAFETY PROCEDURES, OH&S, POST PRODUCTION PATHWAYS, and many other industry processes.

▪ THIS MORNING we’d like to engage you in an experiential exercise to explore three key values that will help you sustain a long and productive life of creative practice.

▪ Those values are collaboration, respect and diversity.

▪ Most of you will be very familiar with these values but for those of you who might need further clarification,

1. COLLABORATION increases the sum of the parts, as opposed to competition which reduces the playing field to winners and losers.

2. RESPECT manifests as regard for one’s SELF, regard for OTHERS, and regard for the ENVIRONMENT in which we live and work.

3. DIVERSITY is a direct result of Respect. Diversity encourages the formation of LINKS between yourself, the real world and the stories you share about the world as filmmakers, musicians, games designers, and visual artists. And Diversity also encourages support in finding one’s own unique voice.

▪ For the purpose of this exercise, THE REAL WORLD is defined as both first-hand experience of external stimulus, and the absorption of transmitted information from others. Also for the purpose of this exercise, you will be working in groups, so ultimately you will need to contribute to a group experience.

▪ In all cases ‘reality’ [action, events, situations, communication] is filtered through our own beliefs, expectations and prejudices—and then presented or constructed as a story.

▪ I’m sure you are all familiar with the fable about the six blind men discovering an Elephant for the first time. The broad sturdy SIDE—was a WALL, the TUSK was a SPEAR, the squirming TRUNK was a SNAKE, the rough KNEE was a TREE, the soft broad EAR was a FAN, swinging TAIL was a ROPE!

▪ Each constructed a reality based on their own experience. If they’d combined their experiences of the same event or moment in time, they’d have discovered something totally different—but a combined story that is greater, more incredible than the parts.

▪ Stories are ‘reality constructs’. It is said that all of Hollywood’s stories are ‘fantasy constructs’. In any case, we tell stories from our own perspective—and that is neither wrong nor right; it just is the way it is for each of us. In the exercise you are about to do, you will be creating a group story construct.

THE TASK

▪ Your first task this morning involves Deep Research in groups of eight (8). All those with the same colour of the rainbow wrist band organise yourself into groups

▪ Each Group will be given a different Theme Card on the way out and you must examine a range of ‘reality constructs’ presented in the form of websites, blogs, wikis, social networks, symbols, signs, images and icons, human phrases and behaviour.

▪ This task will involve you exploring your given topic given to you on the card, one per team – These are ancient Dreamtime archetype themes – the cards are actually copies of ancient documents found at AFTRS decades ago

1. Sacred Land & Places

2. Cultural Heroes

3. Shape Shifting

4. Law and Customs

5. Faith

6. Birth & Creation

7. Ceremony & Totem

▪ You have 40 minutes to gather as much information as possible and see if you as a group can to come up with your own ‘group reality construct’ in the form of a story – a contemporary version of the theme you have been given, to form a whole picture?

▪ All groups will return to this space at 11am to share their stories with us

▪ You will then present them in a short but entertaining format; (maximum presentation time 5 minutes)

11 Kath Blashki on return of students and watching them over skype, a pre-record of her gradually getting more and more ill (looped first bit – might have at beginning then hide on screen for presentations and then bring it back just before…)

▪ 11.50 *Thanks Catherine (she has not spoken until now as live staff gave brief feedback to stories)

▪ A little two line chit chat with Catherine, timed pre-record

▪ Then gives feedback to the students – those were fascinating stories, great research and very interested in how you found real emotion…etc

▪ Around 1.10 Debbie Sander nervously walks in. Whispers with CG at front…asking to address the students

▪ She talks about some research she and/or her assistant has been doing in the library system

▪ How what is happening now is as some predictions have indicated

▪ Shows the date on screen on her research wiki page 22, 2 of 2nd decade of 2nd millenium & a code for 15.30 pm ?

▪ On her page she talks about other research, a blog she found, the codes on the posters, the biodyss company site etc:

▪ CG and Debbie say we need to find out more. We need wisdom of foundation crowd. Research these links. URL of page evident

▪ Stay in teams and report back in 1 hour (2.30pm)

The students are actually exploring site wide from 1.30-2.30 but at

▪ At 2.30 KBs voice heard in foyer area “watch the tv screens…this is a clue…the screens…i have found the secret…get everyone together…I have released the story vessels”

▪ This triggers students to go to networkedmedia.org – which is the ‘big pivot’ summary site with instructions leading all the way and into the ceremony at 3.30

▪ at this moment 7 infected staff and students are wearing the ‘masks’ enter into the foyer area, speaking their 8 lines…they then disperse outside, up the stairs – students will follow and capture their lines (after reading instructions on networkedmedia.org!)

▪ To capture a line the team must say the magic trigger word and the infected one will speak forth the appropriate line and pass a vile (coloured) with the unique line or trigger word on it…

▪ Students will all be gathered at the big tree outside AFTRS at 3.20 and be taken by CG into studio 1

3.30 pm Studio 1 Prod

▪ Students will filter into the back door of Stud 1

▪ A black tunnel will take them only to the sides and into the set (no exits into the external part of the set)

▪ Music & SFX will be looping

▪ At the other side of the set, just behind the portal, outside will be KB and a reverberant mike ready to give instructions

▪ Thus a promise is made to them. That we will continue to create new stories and one day they will return to hear them. In peace.

WHITEBOARD ONLINE PLANNING IMAGE

FIRST DRAFT FOR REFERENCE

THE FRAGMENTATION VIRUS – 1st draft Gary

Tease – What are the roots of separation, people who appear on the outside to be different, digital apartheid? Over the past year at AFTRS why have half the staff and students been branded as the Linears and the other half the non-linears. What are the strange markings on the Nls? Some say they have been using the computer too long, others something they watched? Regardless the toilets, rooms and shared areas are segregated – signs block access. The Nls also seem to be suffering from ADD, hyper tension, psychosis – they can’t focus, always multi tasking and impossible to hold a conversation with them for more than a few seconds. What is this strange environment?

BACK BACK STORY

An alien race have become marooned on earth. They exist in a different reality and need a group of earthlings to help them manifest at a once every 200 year open portal so they can return. 10 000 BC

They discovered a way to inhabit humans through visual and audio stimulus. They can ‘attach’ their minds to audio visual media – certain types. Examples of this have occurred through history – even mass broadcast, but they have found the best hosts to be creative people! And those who like games! Five years ago they found their best host, a filmmaker at the old AFTRS building creating a ‘psychedlic film’ Flash forward to present day Sydney, a film school 5 years earlier

BACK STORY AT AFTRS

Over the last few months staff & students becoming ill. Strange markings on their faces 2 months earlier These staff/students gradually becoming more psychotic, multiple personalities & uttering odd sayings, murmurings of what sounds like a chant 1 week earlier Around the school are symbols, tarot, and strange 1 second long noises are heard emanating from the core of the building Before the weekend Around the school staff have been scrawling symbols. Grafitting some pictures and sending odd emails to each other. Each one thinks they are on a mission

FRIDAY DAY BEFORE PORTAL DAY!

During the Friday students witness various staff gradually becoming more psychotic, greenness and actually writing and putting up odd symbols around the place. One, Blashki, actually showing lines appearing across here neck and face! On the walls around are stills from a film called Incarnation? Why has this film been singled out? School wide and over the weekend students are phone called and a strange but recognisable sound played to them. Also an SMS about bringing in their laptops & to check out a site…URL Day before –

MONDAY MORNING PROF PRACTISE

Intro to what Prof Practise is about. But their first half day assignment from Blash has to be given via Skype from a secure room upstairs in the building (for fear of spreading a virus of some sort?). Other staff are now at the stage she was on Friday – all display odd, zombie like behaviour and also saying and writing odd symbols. Theatre

She seems possessed but says her Cyberbard exercise is very important, about game play and innovation etc: She sets them the task of finding stories online – and they will come back and tell us about them. URLs that point to secret possessions, infestations & rituals of the past. This appears to be a bona fide exercise. Theatre

When she strangely cuts out, acting weird. Staff in theatre take over and give practical instruction about using wiki and the newly set up Ning social network. Theatre

Students are put into teams to work on their task and given spaces to use their computers and develop story. School wide 10 am

Online they find a variety of sites and clues as to the back story above. Strange images of the markings on staff & blogs about odd behaviour & theories of a nasty virus. Including a police report, cover up, about a bio invasion. Blogs, wiki, newsites, flickr etc

The also uncover the links to Egypt, alien race & the strange video symbolism that appeared in Incarnation film that a student made 5 years ago…an excerpt of this has been cut, it contained the most evil sound and captivating visual sequence…only those who have seen it

Back in the theatre the students present what they think they have found back to Blashki still on Skype. She is even more ill and the lines are evident. During the discussion the call cuts to black but we hear some blood curdling sounds – Blashki ‘spliting’ into 10 pieces?!?…SFX (done as audio) – we all recognise some of the sounds. At the end deathly silence. A url appears on the screen?!. Staff then rush out of the theatre (suggest they are going upstairs to find out what happened). 11.30

The students are asked to go to lunch early but to work out what the hell is going on?! “Check out that URL…What is happening to us”… 12.00

The URL leads to a very odd site on the web. Looks like Incarnation film, slowed down, interspersed in the frames are maps of the school. They lead to a variety of places around the school where green goo has been located and covered up…corners in the bins around the back, under bushes, in the props area…all have police tape around them. But students may still touch the goo?! The students believe this may be the cause of the virus? But there is also a lot of online evidence that suggests the video & sounds (still blurting out every hour and now every 20 mins) implant this strange infestation…

They return to theatre after lunch and are asked in their groups what they think is going on? The wiki they have been filling in is full of clues they have been collecting. 1.00

They are told and shown a picture of what happened to Blash upstairs, 5 ‘new’ green shapes on the floor. Rune like shapes. Very like ones in picture frames around the school, ones that have been there for weeks that display famous AFTRS words Diversity, Respect, etc: The students are told to quickly go and retrieve one of these frames each (there are 10 frames – for 10 groups of 5 or so)

On the back of these pictures are puzzles – anagrams, odd sayings, some have links,- together they are a specific clue to an event, a date in the very near future…

Just as the students have collected their frames – approx 10 mins after they leave the theatre the fire alarm goes off… 1.30

Everyone is evacuated, two men in white coats and meters are seen entering the building (along with the fire brigade) – outside the school is split into two factions – the Nls and the Ls …

The students carry on working out their joint clues. All require them to collect various things – for a portal that will be opening up at exactly 3.30 on the day of our lord…etc: BRIDGE… In the studio the students now know they have a chant to bring back Blash and return the lost, alien beings through the portal that only opens once every 200 years 3.30

A ceremony ends with dry Ice, blash returns from the smoke and alien sounds going home. The markings on the staff disappear, the school returns to normal – or does it!!!